


I’m a drop in your ocean

by PraxisDescends



Category: Protean City Comics (Podcast)
Genre: F/F, Panic, Professional Respect, Rescue, Romance through combat, Sparring is Hot, fluff after the trauma, motorbike cavalry, museum nerdery, toxic fumes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-15
Updated: 2020-02-15
Packaged: 2021-02-27 19:54:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22741327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PraxisDescends/pseuds/PraxisDescends
Summary: While Sage and Alejandra spend the day together, their best friends visit the museum.Alina thinks the day will be a breeze, but she didn’t account for Kalliope.There is drama afoot in PCC.
Relationships: Alina Mars/Kalliope, Sage Prince/Alejandra
Kudos: 2





	I’m a drop in your ocean

“Are you sure that’s all you’ve got,” Sage yelled, throwing up another shield as the blow fell. 

Alejandra’s spines bristled. Sliding a pearl from its case, they extended their apparatus laterally. The legs sprang out and clattered up the concrete of the arena wall; preparing for another barrage.

Sage smirked, and gathered up her hands to block the defender’s path, trying to knock them from their vantage point.

‘ _ She is a very competent worker of the arcane _ ,’ they thought, eyes narrowing. They had donned a thin film to protect from the harsh glare of the surface sun, yet still a haze boiled around the girl that made following the motions of her hands difficult. ‘ _ Very clever _ .’

Gathering up their strength into the momentum of their legs, they launched from the concrete, small chips flaking where each point of force had been. They saw Sage’s eyes widen, clearly not expecting the full power of the merfolk’s many legs. 

As she threw up her hands, power rolled off her like the glare of the surface sun. Light seemed to bend around her as if it could not bear to be far from her, even if it lead to its inevitable destruction. 

Sage’s feet were raised a little off the ground, reality twisting around her outstretched hands. Time slowed and Alejandra was very glad of their respiratory aid, because they would have lost their breath. The human was stunning like this, all beauty and danger.

Then, in that eternal second, instinct took over. Years of training took hold of their muscles, a single claw extending from their gauntleted wrist. With lightning precision, they darted in, cutting through Sage’s defences like they were swimming against a deep tide, ripping the magic to the side. The girl’s eyes widened and she swept a hand up to deflect again. Too late.

With a firm click, the switch at Sage’s collarbone depressed and Alejandra let their legs carry them back to the ground.

From under her long hair Sage grinned, breathless and pink cheeked from the exertion.

“That was great, you’re so fast. I thought you had me for sure that first time.”

“Your defences were very powerful during the first few waves,” Alejandra inclined their head, feeling their spines start to smooth out now that their sparring was done. “However, you panicked when you believed I had pressed too close. If you had conserved your power for later in the fight, you may have succeeded in exhausting my options.”

Sage reached for the bottle of coloured liquid on the bench and popped the cap off. It effervesced as if there were some sort of gas trapped inside struggling to escape. She brought the rushing bottle to her lips and drank deep. 

“Ah, that’s better,” she wiped her mouth. “Thank you Alejandra, I appreciate you taking the time to give me some tips.”

“You are very welcome Sage Prince. There are few I have been able to spar with on my travels. Your power is deeply awesome.”

The young witch smirked, taking another smaller sip from the bottle. 

“You know that word doesn’t carry the same weight up here anymore. We say ‘awesome’ about everything.”

“But surely it robs the word of its meaning. How do you say you are filled with awe? What could you possibly refer to as awesome?”

Sage stifled a laugh, but her amusement had already reached her eyes. 

“Ok so for example, this is Blue Raspberry TurboCola, try it, it’s  _ awesome _ .”

Alejandra could hear the soft tinkling of tiny eruptions where the blue liquid sloshed against the edge of the plastic. They frowned at Sage.

“You are telling me this drink will fill me with awe?”

“Nope,” Sage pressed it into the merfolk’s hand. “I’m saying it tastes good, and I like it a bunch.”

The bottle hissed angrily as the cap was twisted off and the protector was skeptical of Sage’s promises. The smell was acrid, the colour almost matching Alejandra’s long twisted hair. They raised it and drained the bottle in three straight gulps. They immediately regretted it. 

The bubbles hit first, shooting to every sensitive part of their mouth, then the sharp acids that dwelled within seemed to cut deep wherever the bubbles had missed. After the first onslaught came the flavour. Was it possible for something to be cloyingly sweet while also bitter and sharp. The little pinpricks in their mouth only grew worse after the first swig, but the only way to cleanse it away was with the second and then final drink. 

They choked, in their panic they had tried to access their gills, a terrible idea in retrospect. They strained against the barrier in place and suddenly Alejandra had convinced themselves that they couldn’t breath, had Sage poisoned them? Did they bear some horrific life-ending allergy to Blue Raspberry TurboCola?

“So, how is it?” Sage was watching their face brightly. “Awesome right?’

Alejandra swallowed, then for good measure swallowed again, taking in a good quantity of air before they responded, clearing their throat to be confident in their composure.

“I am filled with something, Sage Prince. But it definitely isn’t  _ awe _ .”

The witch laughed and took back the bottle. 

“Alright, so maybe not soda. You wanna go try lunch?”

Inclining their head, Alejandra stowed their many discrete weapons. 

“If lunch is anything like breakfast, I am sure I shall enjoy it very much.”

Sage slung her back across her shoulder and turned to smile at the protector, the sun caught in her hair and made her shimmer like the deep crystals. Alejandra stared.

“If you like, we could swing by the museum and see Alina and Kalliope?”

More duty, no matter how willingly given, brought them back up to earth unpleasantly. They had not handed the princesses' guardianship to Alina Mars lightly. She was a trusted ally, and Kalliope had been so excited to spend time with the human. 

Of course, the chance to spend the day training with Sage Prince had been a secondary pleasure. A professional curiosity. They didn’t want to be returned to duty so soon.

“Let Kalliope enjoy the museum, I fear there is little to hold my interest there and I would make her afternoon less liberating.”

“Ok ok, no museum,” Sage grinned wickedly, it was unlike any smile Alejandra had ever seen on a person. “You ever had pizza?”

* * *

“And how old is this?”

“This is the gift shop.”

Kalliope, most regal princess of the Verdant Rise and heir to the Coral Throne pressed her face against the museum window. The transparent barrier fogged where her newly formed nose sat. 

“Ooh, how thrilling. Do you take ancient things as gifts for others? Or is it the place where people bring _ you _ gifts?”

“Uh… neither,” Alina stood back, with her arms folded. “People just sort of buy mementos, and overpriced mugs, postcards, key rings. That sort of thing.”

Kalliope’s eyes widened. These humans had such charming customs, buying nonsense trinkets for one another as a gift. She wondered if Alina would expect a gift or not. How common must gift giving be to the surface world if they had whole areas of their precious ancient halls dedicated to their purchase?

It was a subject that she must think harder about if she was to be a good representative of her people, and learn all she could about the humans and their lives. 

Turning to her escort she extended her most regal smile, only slightly marred by her first attempts at regal  _ walking _ . She hadn’t turned correctly and very nearly tripped over her own ‘feet’.

“Whoa, careful there.” Alina reached out a strong arm to ensure her charge didn’t go flying down the broad stone steps. 

‘ _ Oh blobfish! Epitome of poise and grace Kalli, well done.’ _

The human’s face was unreadable. All human faces were really, but she really thought she’d learned the basics since meeting Alina, and Sage and Metalrivetgiant and other human. Apparently not. Realising in her haze that her awkward fingers were still digging into Alina’s arm muscles. It was likely very painful, but her face was fixed. 

‘ _ She probably thinks that you are a colossal graceless mess and she’d be right. Tides, she’s so warm. _ ’

Blinking up at her, Kalliope attempted not to bare all her teeth at once as she nervously laughed. 

“We have to stop meeting like this.”

“What?” Alina seemed confused, her dark brows creasing quizzically, or perhaps it was pain, or hunger?

“No, never mind. That wasn’t the right time to use that. I realise that now.” Kalliope straightened up as best she could, brushing down her front as if she’d fallen in sand. “I’m not usually this uncoordinated, it must be these terrible land hands… Legs!  _ Blobfish _ ,” she hissed more to herself than to her bemused escort. “I must look at getting myself some of those leg holders, shall we?” she said haughtily, waving a dismissive hand towards Alina’s boots as she swept past to the entrance to the Protean City Metropolitan Museum. 

Immediately the merprincess’s attention was grabbed by the marble parquet floor, many different colours of natural marble, inlaid in a spreading fractal pattern all through the wide atrium. 

“ _ Loook _ at this, what a marvel.”

“I mean. I guess. This is just the floor though, but it is really colourful. I think some old hero made it. With their powers?”

Alina vanished into a group of humans as Kalliope enjoyed waving her arm-hands around and watching them reflect in the shinier parts of the floor. 

“I got us both tickets,” said the human, appearing behind her with a stealth that would have put Alejandra to shame. 

‘ _ How is she so light on those “feet”? She must have exceptional training. I wonder what she’d be like in the water?” _

The thought of engaging with Alina in the water thrilled the princess. She imagined that the human must struggle with her legs, but would more than make up for it with her strong arms. She would love to tutor her in the finer points of agility underwater.

Alina was watching her,  _ tides  _ she was drifting off again. She should remain present and sparklingly witty at all times. 

“Very well, Alina. I would like very much to see your ancient objects and precious minerals.” 

She beamed with only the first two rows of her teeth to show that she was being playful and fun. In the school of humans a small human, possibly a child turned and pointed at Kalliope, mouth agape. The human with him - his mother? - turned and flinched with a small noise of alarm and quickly ferried her child human away. 

The mermaid must have looked as crestfallen as she felt for Alina stepped forward with a comforting shrug. 

“Ignore them. People round here have no manners. Hey…” she glanced around at the grand banners displaying the ancient hall’s wonders. “...you wanna go to the new display of preserved jewellery and fashion?”

Kalliope’s bracelets clattered loudly from her excited flurry. The humans and their drapery were so fine. She wanted to see some old examples of old human clothes. The sorts of things that the lore keepers thought were worth keeping. She reached out a long hand towards Alina, preparing to be escorted.

“Lead on, my worthy guide.”

* * *

The glass case that surrounded the exquisite dress glowed with golden light. Kalliope placed an awestruck hand on it, trying to get as close to the fabric as possible. Alina had kindly told her which cases she could touch, especially after the first one that made such an alarming noise. 

Alina leaned next to her to get a look at the descriptive plaque. The mermaid liked to hear the human talk, she was a good reader, she made the information sound so interesting. That this gown came from Angleland, took hundreds of hours to make and had pearls stitched down it. Kalliope felt a swell of sheer joy bubble up inside her. The cloth looked soft, but strong and the delicate pearls glimmered as if they were still under water.

“What devices could make such a wonderful ensemble?”

The human leaned in closer, her arm pressing against Kalliope’s shoulder. Her dark hair shifted from behind her ear and the princess caught her scent. She smelled like fresh air and warmth, something spiced and clean, like nothing that could exist beneath the waves. The mermaid was enraptured. 

“I think this dress was made in the 16th century, so someone will have had to sew it by hand.”

“By hand?!” 

Kalliope span around to stare at Alina, they were closer together than she expected and she could see herself reflected in the human’s big dark eyes. But she found the proximity comforting in her breathless excitement.

“By  _ hand _ ? With hands like these?” She raised her hands, brushing against Alina’s jacket. 

The smile that greeted her seemed warm, but Kalliope wondered if there was amusement in it too.

‘ _ Why do I keep shoving my fins into my mouth whenever I speak. Alina is so smart and capable and she’s brought you here to show you around...tides she’s stood so close, this is nice, is this a surface thing? She smells like the sky.’ _

“I guess you don’t have clothes like this where you’re from.”

“No, not at all,” Kalliope tugged at the awkward human clothes across her torso. “This was Alejandra’s idea to help me ‘fit in’,” she laughed her voice catching a little in her throat. “I suppose it didn’t quite go that way.”

“I think it suits you,” said Alina, with a smirk. She laid her hand on the princess’s arm and pointed to the next case. “I think this one has a sword with it, come on,”

‘ _ She has a lot in common with Alejandra. It’s probably why I like her so much. Oh, “like her so much”? What a thing to think.’ _

It was only then that Kalliope realised Alina was still holding her arm. Helping her between the exhibits. She was a wonderful guide, parting the crowds and bringing the mermaid right up to the glass. 

“Do the people of Angleland dress like this all the time?” Kalliope asked after Alina showed her a gorgeous dress that had a painting of a beautiful woman in that same dress. 

“I don’t think so. They dress a lot like us,” she waved to her clothes. “But it’s why people get so crazy about preserving them, because they’re old and they don’t make them any more.” 

Kalliope beamed at her, it was an open and joyful sort of grin. She thought about that child on the pretty floor who had been so afraid of her. There was none of that fear in Alina’s eyes. Her dark eyes were crinkled, sharing in Kalli’s delight.

‘ _ She’s not scared of me, not even a little bit.’ _

An eternity passed, and the princess could hear the blood rushing around Alina’s body, smell the tang of citrus in her shampoo, the rest of the noisy crowded room faded away and it was only the two of them. 

“And  _ here _ we see a fine example of the early Elizabethan court style, inspired by…”

A flood of people broke their reverie, more children being lead by a servant of the ancient halls. They were chattering and very mobile, one was chewing on some loud object that smelled of chemicals and acids. The nearest ones began to nudge one another and direct their attention towards the princess. The discomfort must have shown on Kalliope’s face, because she felt Alina’s hand tighten very softly. 

“Come on,” her voice was firm and protective, “Let’s go look at the jewellery.

Her paces were long and confident, clearing space between them and the school of children, while ensuring her charge kept her footing. They were almost at the door to the next room when Alina’s hip began to buzz alarmingly. 

Kalliope tensed, as Alina reached up to brush her own ear apologetically.

“I’m sorry, I really need to take this, it's my… dad. Go on to the next room and I’ll meet you there in five minutes.” 

When her fingers left Kalliope’s arm, the mermaid was struck with a sense of sorrow at being left to her own devices. But if she was going to be self reliant she needed to press on with confidence. 

‘ _ Alright Kalli, you’ve got this. “Jewellery” said Alina, so I want to go out into that narrow room and keep going. Easy. She will be back soon and she can’t miss me.’ _

As Alina’s scent vanished into the shadow of a side room away from prying ears, the mermaid took a breath and stepped forward. 

The school of children were far behind her, but this new space carried with it a whole host of new problems. It was like joining an entirely new stream of people. They were moving as one in a tight confined row and Kalliope supposed they must know which way to go next. 

The human beside her smelled very strongly of some earthly perfume. It overwhelmed every other sense until he was a flaming beacon drowning out the other people. She stumbled, but remained upright thanks to the people around her shuffling with the school of people. 

The hardly scented man broke away, leaving the hoard of strange humans to buffet her this way and that. It was like being caught in a deep current. She couldn’t breath. She needed to escape. 

Shunting her top-heavy body to the side, she slammed into a door, it must be the way into the next room. The portal slammed behind her, plunging the room into total darkness, around her erupted a cacophony of noise. Things were tumbling all around her, metal crashing, the crumple of plastics. She wanted to scream, but the next to hit her was a flood of powerful chemical fumes. 

Something had trapped her. She was under attack. 

Reaching out a grasping hand, her fingers closed around several sturdy staves of metal and plastic. 

‘ _ Weaponry. Or bars? I have been trapped in a cage.’ _

Reeling backwards from the barrier, her clumsy feet were taken out from beneath her and she hit the stone floor, knocking all the remaining air from her lungs. 

‘What do you want from me,’ she wheezed into the room, the poisonous air taking her over. ‘Please let me go…’

* * *

“It is… curious,” Alejandra pulled at the strand of cheese that ran from their mouth to the hot gooey triangle. 

“Good curious?” Sage leaned forward to take a sip of her soda.

“I am, as of yet, undecided.”

After the disaster that was breakfast, the soldier was uninterested in sampling the delights of ‘dairy’ again. But Sage had helpfully ordered something that was made entirely of plants. The two dishes didn’t seem to be different. How inventive these humans were.

“You’ll see. Pizza is one of those things that anyone could eat every day. It’s got everything. Bread, cheese, tomato. What’s not to love?”

“It is certainly dense, I imagine it would be a good food to eat for a day’s training.”

Sage fixed them with a serious gaze and raised an emphatic hand.

“Alejandra, it is good for  _ every _ meal. But yeah, after our morning I think we’ve earned this.”

The human laughed softly, dipping the edge of her pizza into the bright sauce. She was so easy in her skin, even beneath the heavy metal gauntlet and thick heavy jacket, she moved with such ease. There was a preparedness to her that seemed to glow from within. Despite all their years of training, this new land had set the merfolk on the back foot.

They fell into an easy silence and after the initial alarm of the texture had worn off, Alejandra found they appreciated the warmth and flavours from the doughy triangle. They felt very full and satisfied, and it seemed to please Sage to give them new experiences.

“You are a very engaging person, Sage Prince. You have taught me a lot today. I appreciate sparring with an equal, especially in this new medium,” they waved an emphatic hand towards the vagueries of the air. 

The witch grinned at them, taking a long, loud slurp of their soda. The moment passed, and their eyes met across the table. 

“Sage… I-” 

A powerful rattle broke through Alejandra’s stammered attempt to broach a more sensitive conversation. Up the side of their neck rolled a shimmering pearl, that shook with potential and alarm. 

It rocketed from the spine behind their neck and glowed in the air between them and Sage. The human looked in awe, as the glow reflected in her eyes. Quick as a flash, before Alejandra had the chance to explain, a voice ripped out, cutting sharply through the thin surface air.

“ _ Alejandra. Please. I’ve been taken prisoner. I can hardly breath. Please. Something must have happened to Alina. Please…” _

Both witch and warrior were on their feet in an instant, Alejandra’s apparatus extending into an alarming array of clacking legs. The servants at the food dispensary looked at them perturbedly. Perhaps expecting them to be violent. 

The pearl stuttered and Kalliope’s voice failed, they raised a rushed hand and glow increased, expanding in the air to show the area around the dispensary. 

“Where is this place,” Alejandra pointed to the fluttering light of the princess far away from them. They were pleasantly satisfied to see Sage Prince, her hands and eyes aglow ready for anything. She was so professional.

“That’s the museum, where Alina and Kalliope were going.”

“Take me there at once.”

“We can take my bike,” Sage was already at the door before Alejandra could mount any complaint, some paper money leaving her hand as she passed their table. Clearly some ritual of leaving that the soldier was unaware of. It pained them to have to leave without showing proper courtesy to the food dispensary servants, but now was the time for duty.

They regretted sincerely not taking the time to properly ground themself after eating. They did not quite appreciate what Sage meant when she said ‘bike’. Alejandra didn’t know what  _ anyone _ meant when they said ‘bike’ but they had not been expecting to fly through the air at catastrophic speeds through the streets of this metropolis. 

They had wrapped their legs around them like a carapace on Sage’s suggestion but it did little to quell the rising nausea in the merfolk’s… everywhere. It was like being caught in a powerful current, only with no water around them and no sense of direction. The air was sharp and biting, even their breathing apparatus felt strained at this pace. 

At first, they had tried to latch onto the bike’s frame with their hands, letting their spines and carapace protect their body, but that quickly became unfeasible. The terror that ran through them every time the pair of them took a corner was threatening to break their placid surface. Eventually, Sage glanced back over her shoulder, took one hand off the handlebar-

‘ _ Tides! What is this she doing?!’ _

-and placing one of Alejandra’s hands onto her waist. 

“Hold onto me,” she shouted through her visored helmet. She looked every bit the warrior swimming into battle. “It’ll help you balance.”

Reticent to take their other hand from the bike, but very much looking forward to finding their centre on this infernal machine, the protector wrapped both their arms around Sage’s waist. The pearl-forged armour spread forward to connect the gap between their two bodies, and the blasts of air were at last deflected away from Alejandra’s face. 

They could breathe, they could feel the warmth of the human’s body staving off the crisp air, and they could finally plan their assault on whoever had taken their princess.

‘ _ We’re coming Kalliope, hold on.’ _

* * *

Crowds parted as Alina sprinted down the museum corridor. They moved for her, they always did. She knew how to get what she needed, what she didn’t know was where Kalliope was. Initially, she’d just thought the mermaid had wandered off to find something new to enthuse about. 

The panic had crept in slowly. Surely she couldn’t lose a very distinctive mermaid princess in a place with such huge rooms. She’d been wrong. Something terrible must have happened. Some enemy of the merfolk, some other-hating bastard. Alina’s blood boiled as her boots pounded down the parquet. 

She’d thoroughly interrogated the people in the jewelry exhibit, no one had seen her. She hadn’t even made it to the next room. What Alina really needed was eyes on the cameras, she wished Ben were here. She fired him off a text in case he was nearby, but time was of the essence. 

Touching her earpiece, the attempted to raise the Asset or failing that Dewey. Surely either of them had some resources in this building. The one that all the weird artifacts passed through. 

_ bzzt bzzt bzzt _

Cursing, Alina turned the corner to the next hallway. Another one crowded with people, she reached out with her mind and shunted a trashcan to the side so that she could dash around it. Still, none of the security had seen a very distinctive looking mermaid. They weren’t lying, she was 90% sure of it so she doubled back around. 

Triangulation was narrowing down her search zone tighter and tighter. This eliminated a lot of possibilities but also raised more questions. Where could she have gone?

Her earpiece buzzed.

“Ben?” she asked on reflex, turning to scan the area for suspicious characters. She was met with the sound of rushing wind. 

“Alina, what’s happening?”

“Sage?”

“Alejandra got an alert from Kalliope. Is she ok?”

“I… I’ve lost her Sage.”

“Oh no my Go-”

“No not like that,” Alina snapped. If Kalliope hadn’t made it to the next floor  _ or _ the next room, then she could have been taken down the stairs. On her way past she checked a pair of broad windows, both sealed shut. “I left her for five minutes, she was in my sight for most of it, now I have no idea where she is. Does Alejandra have any idea?”

“They say that she’s...ti...i….he...ill….ng…”

“Sage?” Alina knew that wherever the problem lay, raising her voice wouldn’t make the line any clearer. Still, it was human nature. “Sage?”

“Ale...ra...sh...s...ill...um...s…”

By the time Alina had a grasp on what her best friend was saying, she was already running at full sprint back to the first room, Sage’s crackling words echoing in her ears.

“ _ Kalliope is still in the museum…” _

* * *

With the principal in mind that her primary target had never left the initial space, Alina could narrow down her options. She’d been an idiot for not seeing it sooner, rather than trying to track the way the mermaid had been kidnapped from the building, she should have been looking for places that she could have been trapped. 

The first question was, why would someone go out of their way to kidnap the undersea princess only to keep her trapped in a public museum? What was their plan?

Alina scanned the room again, trying to retrace Kalliope’s thought process.

‘ _ She left the room. _ ’

Alina stepped out into the hallway. It had been almost empty when she first started looking, now another tour was shuffling along making it difficult for her to move through. 

‘ _ There was a group, so she ended up walking with them.’ _

Rather than fighting through the crowd, Alina began moving with them, shuffling down the slope to the mezzanine. All the while, scanning for something she overlooked. 

‘ _ She was being moved by them, so something either caught her eye or she was being herded. _ ’

There were several points of interest along the wall. Some art, some light fixtures. Then her eyes fell on a figure pushing the wall, his brow furrowed. Alina’s eyes narrowed. 

‘ _ Bingo. _ ’

Sliding out the side of the crowd, she watched him as he seemed to be trying to move the wall. She spotted a line forming that immediately sparked something in the back of Alina’s mind.

‘ _ It’s a hidden custodian’s closet.’ _

Everything fell into place and she charged up to the man, preparing to defend herself if he turned out to be violent. He swore and shoved the wall again.

“Hey buddy, what’s going on here?” Alina adopted a neutral teenage tone, scanning the man for signs of hidden weapons. 

“The door won’t open, it’s weird.”

“This is a door? It looks just like the wall.”

“Oh yeah, there are a bunch of these closets all over the museum. They’re camouflaged to look like the wall so they don’t distract from all the art and antiquities.” He huffed and folded his arms. “No idea what could be blocking this one. It’s just brooms and cleaning supplies.

“ _ Huh _ ! Maybe you could get someone to pop off the hinges?” The teenager sounded way too interested in the door, but it seemed to work as the custodian backed away and shrugged,

“Yeah, good idea. It’s not urgent.”

‘ _ Ok, so he isn’t the kidnapper.When he goes, I’ll break in and have a look.’ _

She could have sworn she heard a weak noise from beyond the wall and it took every ounce of her patience to wait for the man to be around the corner. 

He was right, the door had no give. Running her fingers around the edge she realised it wasn’t locked, there was no mechanism to do so.

‘ _ Something’s blocking it from the inside. Maybe if I…’ _

Resting her hands at about shoulder height, she focused her mind into a wave. She smiled thinking of Kalliope and how animatedly she talked about her home. Taking a deep breath, she silently wished Sage were here, and pushed.

The sound of sudden clattering inside was only less alarming than the sudden scream of terror. 

‘ _ Shit, shit, shit.’ _

The door clicked out of its frame and Alina wrenched it open. 

Light poured in from the corridor outside and Alina was immediately struck with the powerful smell of chemical cleaners. Rivulets of thick solvent leaked out into the doorframe where a large bottle had cracked. Mops and brooms clattered into it, splashing Alina’s boots with tiny dots of discolouration. 

At first she could not see the mermaid, it was only a small space and there were surely no places someone might be hiding. Reaching up, Alina flipped the light on. It bathed the closet in fluorescent light and somewhere in the ceiling an extractor fan whirred to life. 

“Kalliope?”

Alina stepped over the discarded supplies, her eyes falling on the huddled figure of the princess. She had pulled a heavy tarp over her shoulder, body shrunk down to half its size, her hands formed into oversized fists where she had clearly tried to batter her way out of the room. 

Dropping to one knee, glancing back towards the doorway in case someone came to trap them both, Alina gently pulled the plastic sheet away and Kalliope flinched.

“I won’t…” she whispered, her voice barely audible. “I won’t talk… I don’t care what you do… I won’t … betray my people…” She was defiant, even while scared for her life. 

The human really didn’t want to have to move her, but for as long as there might be danger in the area, she needed to do something. It was then that she spotted Kalliope’s legs, or rather her lack of them. 

‘ _ Damnit, she’s gone back to the tail? Ok. Well at least she’s smaller now?’ _

With practiced arms, Alina scooped the mermaid into her arms and pulled herself back up to her feet. 

“Sorry, your highness,” she muttered, jogging out into the startled crowd.

* * *

Kalliope’s head hurt. Hurt worse than it had done in her entire life. Her chest hurt too, the eternity of taking shallow pained breaths left her winded and dizzy. 

She was moving. Her face pressed against something warm. Someone? She took her first deep breath and smelled spice and citrus, something sweet and the undeniable scent of a human in motion, all of it wrapped up in the sweetest bouquet of fresh air. She smelled like the sky.

“Alina?” she groaned, flexing her fingers experimentally. 

A strong hand was in her hair, holding her in place and supporting her neck while they moved forward. 

‘ _ She came to my rescue, she saved me from the poison. Oh, that’s so nice.’ _

Everything was still hazy, her head pounding as they came to a halt. Familiar smells met her. Alejandra talking rapidly with Alina, who’s firm voice reverberated around her chest delightfully. Kalliope caught snatches of what was said.

“Trapped in a closet… bleach fumes… confused…”

‘ _ I’m not confused, I got rescued by a beautiful land hero. They will sing songs of the heroism of Alina Mars.’ _

It wasn’t until Kalliope awoke wrapped in warm fabrics that smelled of machines that she realised she must have passed out. She blinked against the surface light that she was still unaccustomed to. 

Alina sat in the corner, feet resting on some sort of box, head bowed in restful slumber. The room was sparse, but felt deeply familiar. Kalliope took a soothing breath. This was where Alina slept. She loved the idea of humans having special rooms where they kept their things and slept, it was so charmingly grounded of them. 

Her awakening must now have been as peaceful as she thought, Alina was awake in an instant, honed instincts just like Alejandra. She crossed the room in two strides and dropped to one knee by the bed. 

“Kalliope, you’re awake,” she looked exhausted and the princess reached up a trembling hand to brush her saviour’s cheek. 

“Yes, I am. I think. I hope?”

“How are you feeling?”

“Like I swam through a ghost,” Kalliope laughed softly at the human’s confusion and let her head fall back. “No, never mind. I feel tired.”

“You gave everyone a real scare.”

“Oh. I’m sorry.”

Alina pulled the mermaid’s hand from her face and held it firmly.

“Don’t be sorry.  _ I’m _ sorry. I should have stayed with you, and you got hurt because I slipped up. This is my… house. And you and Alejandra are gonna stay until you’re better.”

“Won’t your dad mind?” the princess asked, earnestly.

“No honestly, don’t worry. He can be a pretty chill guy. Actually.” She pulled her hands away quickly and reached under the bed. “I asked him to pick something up for me. It’s dumb though. And it doesn’t make up for losing you at the museum, but I wanted you to have something nice.”

‘ _ Tides, is this what I sound like? I’m so sorry Alejandra for my intense verbosity.’ _

She smiled regally. 

“Alina, it’s ok. You didn’t need to make up for anything. You saved me.”

The human looked bashful as she set the object down on the edge of the bed. 

“Oh!” Kalliope was genuinely delighted, picking up the gift in her new hands. “You got me a paper ball? I love it. It’s all blue and crinkly.”

“...no,” Alina put her hands over Kalli’s which sent her heart fluttering again. “We wrap up actual presents in tissue paper sometimes, to make it more surprising.”

“What a  _ lovely _ idea. So it’s like you are getting two gifts? The crinkly paper and…oh Alina.”

It took her a moment to realise what she was holding, her thumbs running over the smooth curves, the hard and cold material pleasant against her fingertips. She took in the many images of the building, a beautiful statue of a woman with a merfolk tail, and other artefacts she could not begin to fathom. Interspersed with the images, the words: ‘ **Protean City Metropolitan Museum** ’.

She had asked enough questions at breakfast to answer her main question, and her memory of her wonderful time with Alina filled in the rest.

“It’s a mug! You got me a gift, from the shop full of gifts.”

“Well I know you like gifts,” Alina’s cheeks were dusted pink as she moved the paper onto the side table.

“Tides, but I didn’t get you anything.”

“You really don’t have t-”

Kalliope cut her off with a gesture, a skill she’d had since she was a child and swiftly reached up to unpin her hair. She didn’t require pins to keep her hair in place, she could simply will it to be and it was so. But she loved her golden slides the best and her smile was warm and open as she pressed one into Alina’s hand.

“There,” said the princess like a royal decree. “The gold will look beautiful with your dark hair and human coloured skin.”

Alina was speechless, at least she didn’t say anything, only held onto Kalliope’s hands lost in the mermaid’s enchanted expression of joy before she stood up coyly. 

“I should let you get some sleep. I just wanted to check you were ok after your turn. Uh. I’ll get you up in the morning and bring you some breakfast?”

“Thank you Alina,” said Kalli, sliding back into the wonderful softness of a human bed, breathing in the other girl’s warm scent. “And thank you.”

“You don’t have to thank me for rescuing you, you’d have done the same for me.”

“I didn’t mean that,” the princess replied, her eyes fluttering closed. “Thank you for our date. I had a really good time… y’know, ‘cept for all the not good time.”

Kalliope was smiling as she drifted off to sleep, her hands wrapped tightly around her mug. Her gift from Alina.

**Author's Note:**

> This was the first fic I started for the Protean City 2020 fic jam. 
> 
> Meant for it to be published on Valentine’s Day but writing is hard so here she is now. 
> 
> I feel this needs a second chapter focusing more on Sage and Alejandra. So hmu on twitter (@PraxisDescends) if you agree or you just have some thoughts.


End file.
